September 26, 2013
by CookieCrush
Summary: If I had a dollar for every time someone had annoyed me..I'd be pretty damn rich. But this cuts the cake, this is the epitome of annoying. Why the hell can't they leave me alone for just one day? (Rated M for: Strong Language and Suggestive Themes. And a trip to the feels parade)


Disclaimer: The Last Of Us does NOT belong to me at all! Only the stories that 'I' make belong to me.

A/N: I'm using Ellie's perspective and thoughts to write most of this story.

* * *

It's been months since we've been at Tommy's, and Joel has been more generous with giving me guns, thank goodness. If I hadn't of had that shotgun at that one time when Joel was hanging over a shower curtain (Don't even ask how he got there, he just was there.) and a hunter was about to slash off his face with an ax. Hahh, that guy had no idea what hit him. Well..mostly because I shot him straight in the head. It was an instant kill for sure

Anyway... Me and Tommy went out in the woods to go find some more meat. I felt a little queasy about hunting..but I was fine as long as Tommy was with me. Sadly..Joel didn't want to hunt with me today. He didn't seem very much in high spirits this morning..he didn't even eat the bacon Tommy made, and damn! That was some pretty good fucking bacon.

Suddenly, Tommy gripped on my sleeve.

"Hey..I think I heard something running." My eyes looked towards him, and I cocked my gun.

"All right. I hope it's not one of those fuckers." I joked, but inside, I was hoping I didn't just jinx myself.

"Haha..I hope so too." Tommy laughed along, and we crouched, trying to make as little sound as possible.

FWOOM!

It felt as if a bullet shot past us; Of course it was only a deer but, it was so fast! It felt almost impossible for an animal to be that quick!

"Ellie, let's go! Come on!" Tommy urged, and ran for a short while until we heard the deer again, and then it was back to knee cramps.

"Where is it?" I asked in a whisper tone, and Tommy slowly pointed to it, and my eyes lit up in determination. "Can I kill it?"

"Sure. Good-luck." I aimed my shotgun to the deer, my eyes constricting, trying to get an angle on it.

My heart beat got louder and louder each time I let out a breath, it was intense..but..I shot it, head-first. My lips curved into a smile once I realized I killed it, and Tommy gave me a quick pat on the back before he ran down to claim it for the rest of us.

"Hey, Ellie." Tommy spoke up, carrying the deer by propping it on his shoulders.

"Yeah?"

"You wanna carry it too?" Tommy asked, nudging me a bit on the shoulder.

"Heh..hell no."

* * *

Twenty minutes of carrying that damned deer back, good thing I wasn't the one who had to carry it.

But, at least we got back safely. No clickers. No runners. No hunters. We got pretty lucky today.

"Hey, Tommy! You got a deer!" A man exclaimed happily.

"Well, I'm just the donkey in this one. Ellie is the proud assassin of this mission." Tommy lightly joked, and the man went up to me and congratulated me, giving me a warm smile.

I'm so lucky to live with such nice people.. It almost feels like a family to me.

* * *

"Okay, well, we got the deer, so now we just gotta chop it-." Tommy said, and I immediately interrupted him.

"I think I'm going to sit out on this..uhh..very fun occasion and see what's up with Joel." Tommy looked at me for a moment and knew exactly what that meant, and he left it alone.

"Gotcha. See ya later." Tommy said, waving a swift good-bye before he went off to chop up some deer guts or whatever.

It wasn't really David and the memories that went with it that stopped me from joining them, trust me..I've seen a lot and done a lot. I can handle chopping up a deer carcass. But..what was bothering me was Joel. He's been so depressed lately, not even trying to talk to me, or even really answering me much. It must be a bad day or something.

I didn't know but..I wanted to find out.

* * *

I asked around Tommy's, and eventually I found someone who knew where Joel was. Apparently, he was sitting a little bit outside of Tommy's place, and seemingly staring at something of particular interest.

I slowly walked up behind him, speaking up a bit to forewarn him, just in case I spooked him.

"Hey Joel.." I airily said, and Joel rotated his head to see me.

"..Hi." Joel greeted back, and hid something in his jacket pocket.

'What were you looking at?" I asked, and Joel quickly replies, "It's none of your damn business."

My eyes widened a bit. He never talked to me like that before..except for like..when we first met. I felt hurt..and confused, but I put on a straight face and let out a witty remark.

"Someone's bitchy today." I remark, and he gave me a death glare in return.

After a while of silence, he looks back at me again, sorrow filling his eyes. You could tell he was depressed about something.

"I'm sorry..I'm just..it's just-..a certain day today." Joel apologized, and he grabbed the thing he was hiding in his pocket. "This is the day my daughter, Sarah..died." And he handed me the picture.

I remembered that picture. She looked pretty ecstatic in that picture while she was holding that gigantic trophy, and Joel looked so proud of her as he stood next to her, slightly posing. Yeah..that picture.

"I'm sorry, Joel..I...I didn't know.." I apologized too, feeling pretty bad as well.

Losing someone..especially right in front of your eyes..it must be pretty damn depressing.

"It's fine.." Joel said after he took the picture back and stared again at it.

"Joel..I'll just leave you alone..okay?" I said, and before I walked off, I saw a depressed look plastered on Joel's face.

He was..devastated. That's all I can really say. How can I cheer him up on such a horrible day? It's nearly impossible.

* * *

My steps were sluggish and almost zombie-ish as I walked through Tommy's place. My mind was completely enveloped in that one mental picture I had of Joel's face before I left. It wouldn't leave my head..no matter how hard I tried to think of something else. It was like my brain was trying to tell me to cheer up Joel, but I can only think of one thing that I could try.

The Joke book.

But of course, that would probably just make things worse. I can just imagine it now.

*Ellie's mental image of what would happen*

"Hey Joel, listen to these hilarious jokes.." I urged, and I read a joke from the book. "What's funnier than losing a son?" Joel gave me a solemn look. "Losing a daughter!"

Joel's eyes began to tear up.

"U-uh hold on! What the fuck kind of joke is that!?" Ellie whispered the last part to herself and found another one. "Okay. What would you rather have..a dog or a daughter?" Joel gave her a quizzing look. "It doesn't matter! They both die anyway."

Joel was now silently sobbing to himself.

"Hold on! I'll find a really funny one!" I assured, and then I finally spoke up once I found one. "Knock knock.."

"..*sob* Who's there?" Joel asked, looking up at me.

"Sarah!" I answer.

"Sarah who?" Joel asks.

"Just kidding. Sarah is dead, you moron." I reply.

"WAAAHHHHH~!" Joel sobbed horribly.

*End of Ellie's metal image*

"Holy shit..no way in hell am I doing that." I said in an almost gasping voice, and I continued walking around the place.

Finally I got to where I wanted. The chopping block for unfortunate animals.

A man walked out of the door.

"Ellie? Are you looking for Tommy?" The man asked, and I nodded my head. "He left ten minutes ago, and he said he was going to go grab some grub."

"Okay, thanks." I said, waving a quick good-bye before I ran off to find Tommy.

* * *

Yep, he was in the kitchen..stuffing his face with peaches. But seriously, what else could he really eat? There's shit to nothing here..food-wise. I glanced at him, and once he realized I was watching him freely stuff his cheeks, he began to eat normally again.

"Uhh..h-hey kiddo. Whatcha need?" Tommy asked casually, trying to throw away the awkward atmosphere.

"I need some help-." I started to say- and Maria walked in, interrupting me.

"Tommy, do you know who ate all the peaches?" Maria asked, and Tommy sat there in silence with me.

I just sat there, trying not to laugh my ass off as the room went into complete silence while Tommy slowly pulled his bowl of peaches toward his lap.

"You fucking idiot! Come here, right now!" Maria barked, and I let loose a few chuckles, but stopped when Maria gave me a glare.

"U-uhh.. Maria, I really need to ask Tommy a quick question is that all right?" I ask, praying that I wouldn't get socked in the mouth by her clearly pissed-off self.

Tommy and Maria exchange looks, his look being a begging one, and her look being a 'fuck no' all the way. Though, his puppy eyes enticed her to agree, plus for some reason, she liked me.

"Fine, but make it quick please." Maria accepted, and she sat down quietly.

"Have you noticed at all how Joel has been depressed lately?" I questioned, and Tommy gave a sorrowful look.

"Yeah. It's that day again.." Tommy answered, remembering that day pretty well. "The day I lost my niece." I winced a bit when he said that.

He also lost someone that day.

"How come you seem fine?" I inquired curiously.

Tommy was silent for a minute, but then spoke up again. "Sometimes..you have to be the strong one, so you can help the weak ones. And I have to be the strong one..for Joel."

Now it was time for my silence to kick in. Even Maria wouldn't open her mouth..the atmosphere was so..chilling.

"Why do you ask?" Tommy asked, breaking the ice.

"I want to make him feel better." I reply, and Tommy instantly gave me a suggestion that made me cringe.

"Tell him a joke from that book of yours."

"Hell no."

"Why-?"

"Just no."

Tommy 'hmm'd' for a couple minutes before he snapped his fingers, seeming to have an idea. But it must of been an evil idea because his lips turned into a devilish smirk.

"I know exactly what to do." Tommy said, his smirk almost too much to handle. "You know how stoic, stiff, and almost completely lifeless Joel is, right? How he doesn't really joke around, or laugh, or really have anything to do with happiness?"

"Yeah, that Joel seems pretty familiar." I answer, smiling a bit.

Well, believe it or not...Joel...is.." Tommy said slowly to build up suspense. "Ticklish."

"Don't fuck with me! That sounds like bullshit." I almost yelled out from the shock.

"Trust me, I'm not bullshitting anyone." Tommy assured, and looked at his stunned wife.

She was motionless.

"Uhh, well do you want to try or not?" Tommy asked casually.

"I want to see if it's true." I reply.

"Maria, what about you?" Tommy asked his still stunned wife, but it seemed like she switched back to reality.

"Hell no! I don't want to be on that man's most wanted list." Maria said and she left the room, with her last words being, "Don't worry, I'll inform everyone about your funerals."

"Very funny." Tommy bellowed, and then smiled at me. "So, you ready to torture our victim now?"

"Fuck yeah."

* * *

We both watched Joel sit there, continuing to stare at the same picture he was staring at when I checked up on him. I couldn't believe it..it's been almost an hour and..

He hasn't moved an inch.

I sighed a bit. He was definitely depressed..were we really going to go through with this? I still had some fear in the pit of my stomach, but Tommy still kept the plan going.

Apparently, the plan was that he would 'try' to hold Joel down, while I tickle him. It was fine with me. After all, I had more time to run; The person who has to hold down Joel..well he has only a couple seconds to get the hell out of there before Joel introduces him to the ten stages of pain.

Luckily, Tommy had a safe house prepared for us, or..if what I feel might happen happens, it will be just for me.

"You ready..?" I asked nervously.

"More ready than Joel." Tommy joked, and I couldn't help but laugh a little.

We slowly crept behind him, and my fingers shook nervously as I prepared for the 'torture'. Suddenly..

My heart stopped for a moment when Joel's head twitched, and it started to turn over to us.

Shit! He heard us!

"Now! Just jump on him!" Tommy quickly shouted, and jump I did.

We landed straight on Joel, and he yelled at us, telling us to get off, and spouting out that we were loonies. Well..maybe he was right, cause' only a loony would even think to do this.

"What the hell are you doing?! You gave me a fucking heart attack!" Joel yelled, annoyed. "I..wanted to be left alone!"

Tommy then proceeded to hold his arms up, and he sat on them, for that was the only way to keep them down. And now, the fun part.

"Relax..remember the good ol' days, Joel? When we were young?" Tommy asked, and Joel was still angry as hell, bucking a little to get them off. "Well..think of this as a gift from me."

In a super-quick fashion, Tommy dug his fingers straight into Joel's covered armpits, and Joel cringed at the touch. But no laughter.

I began to get very interested at the sight. I was actually starting to think that he might be ticklish. He just needed a bit more of a push.

I was a little hesitant at first, but..I decided I was going to go with a sort of tease strategy by slowly working my way up from his knees to his pits. I lightly tickled him under his knees, and he almost fucking kicked me in the face!

"You shit!" I cursed, and Joel just gave me a grin. "Ohhhh, its on!"

I was not merciful anymore! Joel just made a horrible mistake. I know it was just reflex, but I needed a reason to tell myself it was okay to be a loony.

And in just a split second, my fingers completely annihilated Joel's nerves by mercilessly tickling under and all around his knees. It was just a hint of a laugh, but it sounded more like a stifled cough. But I was still determined to make him laugh.

"STOP!" Joel shouted, trying to tug his arms back, and he still was kicking his legs. "If you stop now, I'll give you ten seconds to run!"

While he negotiated it sounded like he was gasping between his words, and a slight piece of a chuckle was spotted. I could of sworn I heard it. Plus, I won't take that deal..the only deal I'd take would be- holy shit! I just realized!

"We will stop if you sing for us." I gave a counter-offer, and Tommy laughed heartily at the offer.

No way in God's green earth would Joel ever take that deal.

"Hell no!" Joel rejected, and my lips went into a pout-form.

I was really hoping for a yes, but this was also fun I suppose. Now my lips curved into a grin.

"Prepare for...hell!" I shouted, and I quickly pulled his shirt above his stomach and blew into his naval.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Joel screamed, and bucked me off of him about a foot away. "Don't ever..hah..do that again!"

I only laughed in reply, but I could tell he was really starting to contemplate that singing offer now. Though, it wasn't just about the singing anymore.. This was actually pretty damn entertaining.

And I could have sworn he laughed..just a little.

Now things were starting to get interesting.

So, I got up from the ground, and sat down a little above Joel's waist, and rose my hands up in the air, causing him to tense up. I winked at Tommy, hinting to attack at the same time.

"1...2...3!" I counted, and me and Tommy quickly spider-tickled Joel's armpits and ribcage.

"ACK! ... ! FF...ff...nngh... ha...ha...HAHAHAAHAHAHhahaahahah!" Joel finally laughed from the overwhelming touching, and this time he was pulling much, much harder.

Tommy almost lost his grip, but soon regained it by closing his legs tighter around Joel's arms.

"Nice try." Tommy teased, and slowly counted his ribs, again and again, pissing off the red-faced Joel.

I stopped tickling him for a while, due to the fact I was still soaking up that he was laughing so hard. He completely lost control, and he's still laughing like mad. It was hilarious. Damn..if I only I had a camera.

"P-PISS OFF ALL READY!" Joel yelled, and bucked again to no avail.

"The offer still stands." I said in a sing-song voice.

"Fuck you both." Joel cursed.

Damn, he gets pretty cranky when you tickle him.

"Shit, I don't think I even want to stop." Tommy joked just to scare Joel.

"Me either." I played along, and it was like Joel went into survivor mode.

It was like he was ready to kill if necessary. His lips turned completely straight, and he looked like he was in deep thought. Then a smirk appeared on his face. My eyes widened as I saw Joel somehow manage to get a part of his hand free, and then he reached for Tommy's side.

"GAAAAhahahaahaha!" Tommy guffawed in laughter, and fell over in a laughing fit.

He was obviously more ticklish than Joel.

Then, all of the sudden, I was pushed off, and Joel pounced on Tommy and tickle tortured him real quick.

"Shit!" I whispered to myself, and I began to slowly walk off.

His head quickly rotated to my direction.

"Holy shit!" I screamed, and Joel grabbed the hood of my jacket, and advanced to my arm to pull me back.

Then I was forced next to Tommy, on the ground.

"Now...who's the fucking genius of this retarded operation?" Joel asked us both, giving us a death glare.

Me and Tommy, at the same time, pointed at each other, and Joel heaved out a sigh.

"Jesus Christ.. You two are fucking loons." Joel muttered.

"So..are you going to sing then? Now that we let you up?" I asked, a devious smile placed itself on my lips.

"Fuck no."

"Didn't think so." I replied.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Joel asked, his eyebrows furrowed in rage.

My lips were now straight, displaying a poker face as I reached up to pull out Joel's picture of Sarah. Joel just stared at it with that same stare he had last time. Then he looked at me, sighed, and reached in for a group hug.

"Guys.." Joel began to say.

"Yeah?" Me and Tommy answered, enjoying the sweet moment we were sharing.

"As a token of my forgiveness...I'm giving you five seconds to run for your life." Joel announced.

"How generous of you." Tommy joked, and me and him rushed to get out of there with our faces intact.

"Those fucking idiots.." Joel whispered, and looked at the picture of Sarah once more. "...Sarah...I know you're there somewhere..watching me. I wish that you were actually _here_ here..but..

Joel paused for a moment.

"I know I'll see you one day..I just know it." His eyes began to water. "Just wait for me baby girl...just wait.."

* * *

I almost cried a little, almost. I love Joel, and I can kinda see this happening..hopefully I didn't make any of the characters OOC. But I think any story that has tickling in it, instantly makes everything awkward. Haha, anyway, I hope you liked the story so, review and fave if you want.

Questionnaire: What was your favorite part of the game? :D


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